Pride is the Folly of Fools...I am one of the fools!

Catherine of Genoa reminds us of how our wisdom can puff us up and bring us to a place of confidence only to reveal that the "our" in the equation is foolish pride. There are too many times in my life that I can think of when I thought I was the one that knew the most only to quickly discover I did not know anything in comparison to others int he room and especially to God. I think Catherine would agree with the old saying, "There are always better fish in the pond."

One of these times for me was as I entered into College at Pacific Christian College. In High School, I was playing piano and organ in most every church. I usually played a wedding a weekend. It was not uncommon for me to play for one or two funerals a month. It was good money and I was pretty good at what I was offering. I also was part-time at a church as a choir director and we had shared in several fun worship offerings. The greatest part of being the hired piano/organist was that I was young and the only one around. Then, I entered into college. I was no longer the only one and the competition was much high. It only took a few days for me to realize how small I was and that I was not as good as everyone in my High School years had lead me to believe.

Another time was when I got to meet George Herbert Bush. It was a Monday Morning and I was asked to be a special ambassador for Sevier County, TN to welcome the former president to our town. He and Mrs. Bush we scheduled to watch a Lee Greenwood show that evening. I was excited. I took the day off, I got my best suit on and I headed to the regional airport for their plane to arrive. I stood next to the Governor of Tennessee and the Mayor and shook the President and the First Lady's hands as they stepped off of the plane to welcome them. It was a great day and I thought I was someone special. As I got into the car and drove out of the airport parking lot, I was overcome with conviction from the Holy Spirit. I sat there and the Holy Spirit said to me, "You didn't get that excited to meet me yesterday in services and I am the Creator of the Universe." I was cut to the heart and it changed me. That was over ten years ago, but since that day my Sunday Morning experience starts on Saturday afternoon and I make every effort to prepare and be excited to meet with God in Sunday Worship.

I know that God is with us every moment of everyday. I know that we enter into His presence only in awareness in a corporate setting during a church worship service, but that His presence is always with us. What Catherine reminds me is that our God is more than I can comprehend and when I pay attention, he reveals himself in the greatest of ways. It is like Catherine states: "God's love wills to stand naked and without any cover since it has nothing to hide."

Learning to lean on God takes every effort...doing it together is what hold us to a greater power. You know I love ya, Don